HPW-Catalyzed environmentally benign approach to imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines

• Luan A. Martinho and
• Carlos Kleber Z. Andrade

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 628–637, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.55

• report from the literature [24] a plausible reaction mechanism is shown in Scheme 6. It involves the nucleophilic attack of the aminopyridine 1 to the HPW-activated carbonyl compound 2, followed by iminium ion formation (iii) and [4 + 1] cycloaddition with the isocyanide. A 1,3-hydrogen shift yields the

Green and sustainable approaches for the Friedel–Crafts reaction between aldehydes and indoles

• Periklis X. Kolagkis,
• Eirini M. Galathri and
• Christoforos G. Kokotos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 379–426, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.36

Mechanisms for radical reactions initiating from N-hydroxyphthalimide esters

• Carlos R. Azpilcueta-Nicolas and
• Jean-Philip Lumb

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 346–378, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.35

• the phthalimidyl anion within the chiral pocket of the phosphate catalyst to form complex 55, before enantioselective addition to the iminium ion affords product 56. NHPI esters can also engage in π–π interactions with electron-rich species to generate charge-transfer complexes that can absorb light

• formation of α-amino radical 107 through photoinduced SET followed by fragmentation. Subsequent oxidation of 107 by radical cation q-Ac•+ afforded iminium ion 108 before nucleophilic addition of the in situ-generated tetrachlorophthalimyl anion (–TCPhth) led to the formation of aminal product 105. Of note

• (sp3)–N cross-coupling products. On one hand, in-cage electron transfer from radical 107 to BiII complex 130 can generate iminium ion 108. Alternatively, intermediate 108 could arise from complex 131 by reductive elimination. Ultimately, the iminium ion can be trapped by the nitrogen nucleophile to

Application of N-heterocyclic carbene–Cu(I) complexes as catalysts in organic synthesis: a review

• Nosheen Beig,
• Varsha Goyal and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1408–1442, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.102

Acetaldehyde in the Enders triple cascade reaction via acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal

• Alessandro Brusa,
• Debora Iapadre,
• Maria Edith Casacchia,
• Alessio Carioscia,
• Giuliana Giorgianni,
• Giandomenico Magagnano,
• Fabio Pesciaioli and
• Armando Carlone

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1243–1250, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.92

• reaction for the synthesis of polyfunctionalized cyclohexenes bearing multiple stereocenters. The reaction is promoted by a chiral secondary amine, which is capable of catalyzing each step of the process activating the substrates through enamine and iminium ion catalysis towards a Michael/Michael/aldol

• intercepts the nitroalkene 3 in a Michael-type addition forming intermediate B. Hydrolysis regenerates catalyst 1 that can then selectively condense with the α,β-unsaturated aldehyde 4 to form chiral iminium ion intermediate C. Iminium ion C reacts with intermediate B in a further Michael-type reaction. The

• nitronate to the α,β-unsaturated iminium ion, should be tackled to improve the diastereocontrol. All efforts to discriminate the two faces of the nitroenolate during the addition proved unproductive during the optimization, therefore, a potential epimerization was envisaged during the course of the reaction

Clauson–Kaas pyrrole synthesis using diverse catalysts: a transition from conventional to greener approach

• Dileep Kumar Singh and
• Rajesh Kumar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 928–955, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.71

• carbonyl carbon to form the 5-membered ring E bearing the iminium ion. Finally, N-substituted amines 67 were obtained after deprotonation/protonation, dehydration, and aromatization steps as shown in Scheme 32b. In another report, Ozaki et al. [87] used the Clauson–Kaas approach to synthesize sulfonic

Sulfate radical anion-induced benzylic oxidation of N-(arylsulfonyl)benzylamines to N-arylsulfonylimines

• Joydev K. Laha,
• Pankaj Gupta and
• Amitava Hazra

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 771–777, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.57

• persulfate (K2S2O8) as the exclusive reagent [14]. The mechanistic study revealed that an initial oxidation to an iminium ion could be the key intermediate in the intramolecular cyclization step. In sharp contrast, when N-aryl(benzyl)amines that do not have an ortho-substituted nucleophile in aniline ring

Enolates ambushed – asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and subsequent enolate trapping with conventional and less traditional electrophiles

• Péter Kisszékelyi and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 593–634, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.44

• reaction with the α-aminoether 118. This reagent released an iminium ion into the reaction medium that reacted with the Al enolate 117 [66]. Furthermore, the Mannich adduct was then reacted with Grignard reagents that replaced the dimethylamino group (Scheme 30). Alexakis and co-workers also investigated

Catalytic aza-Nazarov cyclization reactions to access α-methylene-γ-lactam heterocycles

• Bilge Banu Yagci,
• Selin Ezgi Donmez,
• Onur Şahin and
• Yunus Emre Türkmen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 66–77, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.6

• single diastereomers. This reaction outcome was attributed to a potential cis–trans isomerization of the C–N double bond upon iminium formation (Scheme 4). In this respect, the mixing of imine 18 with the α,β-unsaturated acyl chloride 6 is expected to form the iminium ion 20a with Z-configuration. A

• chloride-mediated iminium E–Z isomerization may take place through the intermediacy of α-chloroamide 21. The aza-Nazarov reaction of the more stable E-iminium ion 20b is expected to proceed faster due to steric considerations giving the major diastereomer 19 whereas the less stable Z-iminium ion 20a would

• product in pure form from a crude reaction mixture failed. However, when a mixture of imine 5a and methacryloyl chloride (31) was stirred in a biphasic mixture of CH2Cl2 and aqueous NaHCO3 solution, we were able to isolate and fully characterize aldehyde 32 which would form via the hydrolysis of iminium

Redox-active molecules as organocatalysts for selective oxidative transformations – an unperceived organocatalysis field

• Elena R. Lopat’eva,
• Igor B. Krylov,
• Dmitry A. Lapshin and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1672–1695, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.179

• from the indoline to B(C6F5)3. The resultant iminium ion is deprotonated by a second indoline molecule with the formation of an ammonium ion and the final indole. The ammonium ion reacts with a HB(C6F5)3 anion with the release of a H2 molecule and the regeneration of B(C6F5)3 for the next catalytic

Synthesis of (−)-halichonic acid and (−)-halichonic acid B

• Keith P. Reber and
• Emma L. Niner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1629–1635, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.174

• -stereogenic center, which bears a methyl group, the electrophilic site (the iminium ion), and two possible nucleophilic sites (a prenyl group and a trisubstituted alkene within a cyclohexene ring). In conformer 12a, the prenyl group occupies a pseudo-axial position, the methyl group occupies a pseudo

• of the 3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane ring system. In any case, this aza-Prins reaction is by far the preferred mode of cyclization of iminium ion 12 based on the isolated yield of 8 (64%), ultimately leading to the carbon skeleton found in the natural product halichonic acid ((+)-1). In conformer 12b

• (+)-2. If the biosyntheses of these natural products does occur through a common iminium ion intermediate, then our isolation of 11 suggests that the key aza-Prins cyclization is enzyme-mediated rather than spontaneous. Conclusion In summary, we have synthesized the enantiomers of halichonic acid and

Regioselectivity of the S_EAr-based cyclizations and S_EAr-terminated annulations of 3,5-unsubstituted, 4-substituted indoles

• Jonali Das and
• Sajal Kumar Das

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 293–302, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.33

• nine-membered rings 27 via triflic acid (TfOH)-catalyzed reaction of indole-derived phenylenediamine 25 with aldehydes 26 (Scheme 9) [19]. Mechanistically, the initially formed iminium ion I undergoes isomerization to iminium ion II through a 1,3-hydride shift process. Iminium ion III could then be

Recent advances and perspectives in ruthenium-catalyzed cyanation reactions

• Thaipparambil Aneeja,
• Cheriya Mukkolakkal Abdulla Afsina,
• Padinjare Veetil Saranya and
• Gopinathan Anilkumar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 37–52, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.4

• -aryltetrahydroisoquinoline. However, aliphatic tertiary amines failed to achieve the desired product by this method. The proposed mechanism is initiated with the formation of a Ru–oxo species by the reaction between Ru/C and TBHP. The next step involves the formation of an iminium ion intermediate through reaction of the Ru

• –oxo species with the tertiary amine. The subsequent reaction between this iminium ion intermediate and CN− furnishes the required product (Scheme 4). In 2013, Jain and co-workers described a novel strategy for the synthesis of a ruthenium-carbamato complex and its promising catalytic application in

Electrocatalytic C(sp³)–H/C(sp)–H cross-coupling in continuous flow through TEMPO/copper relay catalysis

• Bin Guo and
• Hai-Chao Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2650–2656, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.178

• oxoammonium salt TEMPO+ [50][51], which reacts with tetrahydroisoquinoline 23 to generate TEMPOH and iminium ion 24 [52], TEMPOH is oxidized back to TEMPO+ on the anode. On the other hand, 24 is converted to the final product 25 through reaction with copper acetylide 26, which is generated from CuI and the

• alkyne 27 with the assistance of CF3CH2O−. The added CuII precatalyst is likely reduced at the cathode to produce the requisite CuI. The base CF3CH2O− is produced through cathodic reduction of TFE. The addition of TFE to the reactions helps cathodic H2 evolution and may also stabilize the iminium ion

N-Sulfinylpyrrolidine-containing ureas and thioureas as bifunctional organocatalysts

• Viera Poláčková,
• Dominika Krištofíková,
• Boglárka Némethová,
• Renata Górová,
• Mária Mečiarová and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2629–2641, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.176

• itself, in which the carboxylic function acts as an ancillary hydrogen-bond donor for the direction of one of the reagents [9]. Amines serve as basic units and nucleophilic components capable of carbonyl compounds activation via enamine or iminium ion formation [10][11]. In particular, pyrrolidine became

Recent advances in organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael reactions of amines and amides

• Pratibha Sharma,
• Raakhi Gupta and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2585–2610, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.173

• appears that in this case, both activation mechanisms, namely through hydrogen bonding and iminium ion formation are operating. Using the same chiral cinchona-based primary-tertiary diamine as catalyst (cat. 11), Zhai et al. developed a highly efficient intramolecular enantioselective aza-Michael addition

• 108 to aliphatic α,β-unsaturated aldehydes 109 and synthesized biologically active acyclonucleoside 110 via an iminium-ion activation mechanism. The initially formed product was reduced in situ to afford the final product in 82–89% yield and 89–96% ee (Table 25) [66]. In a similar method, Joie et al

Visible-light-mediated copper photocatalysis for organic syntheses

• Yajing Zhang,
• Qian Wang,
• Zongsheng Yan,
• Donglai Ma and
• Yuguang Zheng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2520–2542, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.169

• cation I and a CuI species. This process regenerated CuII in the presence of molecular oxygen. The deprotonation of the nitrogen radical cation produces an α–amino radical II, which was further oxidized to the iminium ion III to which the copper alkynylide added forming the desired product (Scheme 17

Synthesis of new substituted 7,12-dihydro-6,12-methanodibenzo[c,f]azocine-5-carboxylic acids containing a tetracyclic tetrahydroisoquinoline core structure

• Agnieszka Grajewska,
• Maria Chrzanowska and
• Wiktoria Adamska

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2511–2519, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.168

• compound 16; the next step involves the formation of the iminium ion 17, which is then hydrolyzed to compound 8 and hydroxyacetaldehyde in the last step. Thus, the unexpected reactivity of 6a with diluted HCl may be explained by the electron-withdrawing effect exerted by the adjacent COOH group which

• facilitates hydrolysis of the iminium ion 17. Conlusion In conclusion, a straightforward and efficient method for the synthesis of new tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives, 7,12-dihydro-6,12-methanodibenzo[c,f]azocine-5-carboxylic acids 7a–f has been developed. It is based on the Petasis reaction with the use

Asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives

• Natália M. Moreira,
• Lorena S. R. Martelli and
• Arlene G. Corrêa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1952–1980, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.128

• addition of 4-hydroxycoumarin (1) by the Re face of the enones 2 through a bifunctional modified binaphthyl organocatalyst 18 with primary amine [37]. The reaction occurs through the activation of the enone substrate by formation of an iminium ion intermediate and, in the presence of an acid additive

• proposed transition state includes activations of the enone via an iminium ion and the coumarin by hydrogen bonding. A series of optically active polycyclic pyranocoumarin derivatives 37 was obtained in high yields with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97% ee) (Scheme 12). Kowalczyk and Albrecht

• methodology developed made it possible to obtain a mixture of open and closed forms of (R)-warfarin (3a) from a bifunctional catalyst of squaramide by the formation of an iminium ion intermediate with enone and hydrogen bonding with hydroxycoumarin (Scheme 27a). By using the squaramide catalyst with tertiary

On the application of 3d metals for C–H activation toward bioactive compounds: The key step for the synthesis of silver bullets

• Renato L. Carvalho,
• Amanda S. de Miranda,
• Mateus P. Nunes,
• Roberto S. Gomes,
• Guilherme A. M. Jardim and
• Eufrânio N. da Silva Júnior

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1849–1938, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.126

• aromatic substitution reaction. The substrate failed to give the same product when subjected to alkylation with the isolated putative iminium ion intermediate. The authors then suggested the reaction took place through a radical mechanism instead. This vanadium-mediated aminoalkylation reaction was found

Microwave-assisted multicomponent reactions in heterocyclic chemistry and mechanistic aspects

• Shivani Gulati,
• Stephy Elza John and
• Nagula Shankaraiah

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 819–865, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.71

• -proliferative activity against tumor cell lines leading to the discovery of new lead compounds (Scheme 6). A tentative mechanism in Scheme 7 depicts the formation of iminium ion A from the reaction between 19 and 20 after the intramolecular protonation by carboxylic acid. The A conformer stabilized by

CF₃-substituted carbocations: underexploited intermediates with great potential in modern synthetic chemistry

• Anthony J. Fernandes,
• Armen Panossian,
• Bastien Michelet,
• Agnès Martin-Mingot,
• Frédéric R. Leroux and
• Sébastien Thibaudeau

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 343–378, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.32

• to give an imine in the first step, which is protonated by (S)-TRIP to generate the corresponding chiral CF3-substituted iminium ion. The latter subsequently reacts via the most accessible Re-face with indole 149 to afford the resulting Friedel–Crafts product 177. Worthy of note is the fact that the

• stabilization of radical 181 by the captodative effect could also favor the general process. Lewis acid activation of trifluoromethylated hemiaminal ethers has also been studied by Fuchigami et al. [115][116]. For instance, when 179b is treated with a slight excess of TiCl4 in dichloromethane, iminium ion 182b

• iminium ion 192 by Lewis acid activation was suggested by the authors (Scheme 46). The resulting CF3-substituted β-amino ketones 190 could then be efficiently transformed in a one-pot procedure into the corresponding CF3-substituted enones 191 upon Brønsted acid treatment. Langlois and Billard then

Synthesis of legonmycins A and B, C(7a)-hydroxylated bacterial pyrrolizidines

• Wilfred J. M. Lewis,
• David M. Shaw and
• Jeremy Robertson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 334–342, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.31

• , irrespective of the site of activation, the subsequent ejection of the activating reagent would generate an extended iminium ion whose capture by adventitious water would produce legonmycin A directly. For context, the treatment of enol esters with oxidizing agents to give α-hydroxyketones, or halogens to give

Recent developments in enantioselective photocatalysis

• Callum Prentice,
• James Morrisson,
• Andrew D. Smith and
• Eli Zysman-Colman

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2363–2441, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.197

• radical 5•, which (depending on the EWG) can either reduce another molecule of 2 via a SET process or via an atom transfer (AT) process and propagate the chain reaction [21]. The SET route directly generates 2• and iminium ion intermediate 6, but the AT goes through alkyl bromide 7, before generating 6

• reductively quenches the photocatalyst to form enaminyl radical 13•+. However, in this reaction 13•+ can then add to the alkene to give an alkyl radical 14•+, followed by hydrogen atom abstraction from the thiol, acting as a HAT catalyst, to give iminium ion intermediate 15. Hydrolysis of 15 generates the

• ]•+, with the latter oxidising 22 to give radical cation 22•+ and turn over the photocatalytic cycle. The radical cation 22•+ is then proposed to participate in a two-step electron and proton exchange process with [CoII] to give [H–CoIII] and iminium ion 24, likely via a [CoI] intermediate. [H–CoIII] can

Reactions of 3-aryl-1-(trifluoromethyl)prop-2-yn-1-iminium salts with 1,3-dienes and styrenes

• Thomas Schneider,
• Michael Keim,
• Bianca Seitz and
• Gerhard Maas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2064–2072, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.173

• non-nucleophilic anions can be isolated [14][15], but in organic synthesis, they are most often generated in situ from suitable precursors and are directly exposed to diverse nucleophiles. Such transformations have been achieved using CH2(CF3)NR2 as the iminium ion precursors [15

• of 1a and 2,3-dimethylbutadiene (DMBD), the regioselectivity of which is as expected for a highly asynchronous transition state with effective stabilization of the positive charge or a two-step ionic process (vide infra). The high electrophilic power of the 1-CF3-substituted propyn-1-iminium ion

• sequence. On the other hand, the successful thermal iminium-ion induced SE(Ar) reactions shown in Scheme 2 were not applicable to the iminium-substituted norbornadiene 2, which suffered undefined polymerization on moderate heating in various solvents. In contrast to so far unknown 9‑amino-9